


Miss Me?

by allypx



Category: Doctor Who, Torchwood
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-24
Updated: 2015-04-24
Packaged: 2018-03-25 13:59:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3813148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allypx/pseuds/allypx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takes place at the end of DW Series 3 and the start of TW Series 2</p>
            </blockquote>





	Miss Me?

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to the lovely [](http://nhj28.livejournal.com/profile)[nhj28](http://nhj28.livejournal.com/) who read this almost a paragraph at a time as I wrote it, and to [](http://crowson75.livejournal.com/profile)[crowson75](http://crowson75.livejournal.com/) who suggested the change to the beginning.

Title: Miss Me?  
Author: [](http://ally-p-x.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://ally-p-x.livejournal.com/)**ally_p_x**  
Characters: Jack, mentions of Jack/Ianto, TW team, characters from DW Series 3.  
Rating: 14  
Disclaimer. These characters do not belong to me. They are the property of Russell T Davis and the BBC.  
Spoilers: DW series 3, TW Series 1 and Series 2, up to 2:1  
Warnings: None.  
Beta'd by:  the  amazing [](http://crowson75.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://crowson75.livejournal.com/)**crowson75**   thank you, honey.  
Authors Notes: Thank you to the lovely [](http://nhj28.livejournal.com/profile)[**nhj28**](http://nhj28.livejournal.com/)  who read this almost a paragraph at a time as I wrote it, and to [](http://crowson75.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://crowson75.livejournal.com/)**crowson75**  who suggested the change to the beginning.  
Summary: Takes place at the end of DW Series 3 and the start of TW Series 2  
      

 

Miss Me?  
__

__

 

_"Back to work," Jack said suddenly, ducking underneath the railings that surrounded the Plas._

_"Come with me."_

_Jack  looked steadily at the Doctor; trying to read his expression._

_"Had plenty of time to think that past year. The year that never was,"  A glance towards the Water Fountain, " And I kept thinking about that team of mine."_

_Jack needed the Doctor to understand why he had chosen to stay. It had been a surprisingly easy decision to make._

_"Like you said, Doctor. Responsibility."_

_The Timelord nodded. "Defending the Earth. Can't argue with that."_

__

 

_He gave the Doctor and Martha his best salute. "Sir. Ma'am",  turned on his heel and jogged across the Plas._

__

 

__Within feet of the entrance to the Hub he stopped abruptly. Something told him that he was not going to be able to flirt and charm his way out of the inevitable conversation his team would want to have with him. Gwen, for one, was certain to insist and he wasn't ready for her questions.

 

The delay in Jack's return wasn't wholly his fault. Despite his protests, UNIT had insisted on debriefing him before he was allowed to leave _The Valiant_. The whole process had taken far too long in Jack's opinion -  he'd  just wanted to get back to Cardiff and his team. 

What he needed now  was some time to get his thoughts together before the inevitable happened and one of the team spotted him on the CCTV.

Jack's fingers closed around the small key in the pocket of his greatcoat.

"Of course," he smiled to himself. He took the key from his pocket, swung it on the chain briefly, and slipped it over his head.

 

Jack walked the length of the Plas towards the Bay, pausing for a moment to look at the fake Tourist Office, before turning left and slowly walking in the opposite direction.

 

He leaned on the railings and looked out across the Bay, deep in thought. Everything about Cardiff was the same as before he left. It looked the same; the early evening sun turning the roof of the Millennium Centre golden and sparkling on the water of the Bay, the boats tied up at the jetty.  It sounded the same, seagulls calling, the buzz of conversation and music from the surrounding bars. It even smelt the same.

All around him ordinary people were going about their lives, with no memories of the horrors the Master had visited upon them. 

 

The year on  _The Valiant_ had given Jack plenty of time to think and to remember. There had been so many times when his memories had helped him keep a fragile grip on his sanity. Memories of his parents and Grey. The Doctor and Rose. Estelle.

_"And I kept thinking about that team of mine."_   His team, in particular, had never been far from Jack's thoughts. He had always known that however long it took the nightmare to play out, he would, at least, be alive at the end of it. The Master had laughed as he forced a horrified Jack to witness the destruction of  Cardiff.  

Now, he shuddered at the memory. Cardiff was home, and it was Torchwood - Gwen, Toshiko and Owen. And it was Ianto. Beautiful, broken Ianto.

 

On _The Valiant,_ Jack had reserved memories of Ianto for the very darkest days, when the Master was at his cruellest. It  had helped to lose himself in thoughts of every kiss, every touch they had shared. 

His relationship with Ianto had started out as much from Jack's clumsy attempt to try and offer comfort and reassurance, as Ianto's somewhat naive, but unnecessary, desire to prove his loyalty. By the time Jack had been prepared to admit to himself, or Ianto, that it was more than that,  Abaddon had intervened and their world was in chaos.

It had been unforgivable  really, to leave them all in that way. He should've tried harder to make contact with them, with Ianto at least. The last time he saw Ianto, Jack had kissed him in front of the whole team and made their relationship public, then abandoned him.  Feeling abandoned was something he was familiar  with enough to feel guilty about inflicting on Ianto. He had asked nothing of Jack, who had given everything he was capable of giving at that time. 

Whilst being held on _The Valiant,_ Jack had come to realise that none of it had been fair. Jack had decided that things were going to be different when he got back and he would put things right, if that was what Ianto wanted. He had made vague plans in his mind of dinner, a movie, a kiss goodnight on Ianto's doorstep. Not that he didn't want his lover back in his bed, not at all, it was just  important Ianto understood he meant more than that to Jack.

 

Darkness had fallen and a cold breeze blew across the Bay. Jack shivered and pulled his coat closer around him.  
_  
"Back to work."_

Deciding against a dramatic entrance to the Hub via the lift, Jack headed towards the  Reception Office. If old habits were anything to go by, Ianto would be there alone. Jack smiled and quickened his pace, eager to see him again. 

The closed sign showed through the window of the door and it was locked. Jack tapped numbers into the keypad and hoped that no one had thought to change the code. The locked clicked and he opened the door. Jack shook his head;  he would be having words with someone about that particular oversight.  It was completely dark inside the office.  Reaching over Ianto's desk, smiling at the memories it brought back, he released the door  and made his way into the Hub.

 Barely noticing the alterations to the Hub, Jack scanned the area looking for any member of his team.  It looked as if they had left in something of a hurry;  the coffee in the mug on Owen's desk was still warm. Jack tapped a few keys on Owen's computer and bought up the CCTV images of the Hub. Checking them quickly, he realised that even Ianto was missing and that was unusual.

He made his way to his office and looked about in surprise. It too had been refurbished in his absence, but was still comfortingly familiar. Gently, he touched the coral on his desk; everything was there, exactly as he'd left it. 

The hatch to his quarters was closed. Lifting the heavy door, he climbed down the ladder. Once at the bottom, he turned on the lights and sat down on the bed. It was was neatly made and the linen was clean and smelt freshly washed. There was a slight indentation in his pillow though, as if it had been recently used. Jack picked it up;  it smelt of Ianto's hair gel. Smiling, he replaced the pillow and made his way into his tiny bathroom. 

Turning on the shower, he quickly stripped out of his clothes while the water heated. Standing under the pounding spray, he sighed deeply at the feeling of the water on his skin, yet another thing he had been denied on _The Valiant_.

Stepping out of the shower, he dried himself, and went back into his room to dress. Opening the door to his wardrobe, he pulled out a clean pair of trousers. Hanging them over his arm, he pushed shirts along the rail, selecting a dark blue one. Next to it was a dark grey suit, which he didn't recognise. The deep red shirt alongside it certainly wasn't his. 

So, not only had Ianto kept his office and quarters immaculate,  he had been sleeping there too if the evidence was anything to go by. It  was as if Ianto expected Jack to return, but wasn't completely convinced that he would be staying. Jack wasn't sure if that made him feel happy, or if it broke him into tiny pieces.

"Oh, Ianto." Jack whispered softly, " I'm so sorry."  

 As he shut the wardrobe door, it occurred to him that apologies generally worked best when made in person and to do that he needed to find Ianto.  Jack finished getting dressed  and climbed back up to his office. A quick glance out of the door confirmed that the Hub was still deserted. Jack frowned, it was not exactly the homecoming he had imagined and he had thought of many different scenarios.

As there was no indication as to where his team were, Jack settled himself at his desk and began to leaf through the enormous pile of paperwork neatly stacked there. He spent some time catching up on reports and reading through his e-mails. The expenses forms he put to one side, Ianto could forge his signature on those later.

An alert on his wristband  indicating an alien energy signal  distracted him from Gwen's reports. With a few keystrokes, he bought up the link that enabled him to remotely access Toshiko's computer in the SUV.

"Blowfish, eh?" He activated the tracking device on the SUV;  it was roughly two miles away from the Hub. The energy signal from the alien was nearer. Pushing back his chair, Jack sprang to his feet, grabbed his coat and pulled it on as he quickly crossed the Hub and left through the Reception office.

Once outside, he sprinted up a nearby set of steps and barged his way through the crowds of people still outside the bars and clubs. Without the benefit of the Hub's computer he had no idea where the team was, but the signal on his wristband was steadily getting stronger as he headed into a nearby residential area.

He ran along  several streets and through alleyways, before stopping to catch his breath and to check the signal on his wristband again.

"Should be right around here, some place," he muttered. The sound of shrieking tyres caught his attention, as a bright red convertible careered into the cul-de-sac and was abandoned by the alien. Before a startled Jack had time to react, there was a further sound of squealing tyres and a very familiar black SUV pulled up. The doors were flung open, and there they were. His team.

Spurred into action by the gun shots in a nearby house, they raced in through the front door without even noticing him.

"How many times do I have to tell them? Cover all the exits!" Laughing quietly to himself, he crept around the side of the house towards the lit patio window.

Owen was kneeling on the floor giving first aid to the wounded man lying there. Gwen, gun pointing at the alien, had a protective arm around his wife. Toshiko, gun in one hand and PDA in the other, was calmly assessing the threat. The alien, its arm around the throat of the couple's daughter with a gun to her head, was taunting his team. And with his back to Jack, gun in outstretched hand, was Ianto.

_"So, what about it minion? Can you do it? How good are you?_

__Jack held his breath.

_"How sharp is your aim? What if you kill her?"_ The terrified girl struggled against its grip.

_"What if I kill her first? Can you shoot before I do?,"_  it taunted  Ianto. The girl began to sob. 

'Just do it, Ianto... just like I taught you...squeeze the trigger gently, and shoot'.  Jack's silent plea to his young lover went unheeded.

_"Dare you?"_

__Ianto was the only one with a clear shot  but he was hesitating over taking it.

"Do it. Shoot," Jack whispered.

_"Would you? Won't you?"_

Realising that Ianto was frozen to the spot, Jack drew his gun and killed the alien with a single shot to the head. As it dropped to the ground, Ianto spun around to see where the shot had come from. The look of confusion and surprise on Ianto's face as he registered his presence made Jack laugh.  

_"Hey kids. Did you miss me?"_

 

 


End file.
